OTTAWA — The federal Conservatives voted late Wednesday to repeal controversial sections of the Canadian Human Rights Act banning hate speech on the Internet, backing a bill they say promotes freedom of expression and would have the courts play a larger role in handling hate-crime cases.

In a free vote of 153 to 136, the Tory caucus supported a private member’s bill from Alberta Conservative MP Brian Storseth that would scrap Section 13 of the human rights code, which deals with complaints regarding “the communication of hate messages by telephone or on the Internet.”

This is a huge victory for freedom in Canada. However, we still have other unjust zionist "hate" laws that need to go.

Way to go Harper. I know we can't get everything we want, but I stand a little taller today as a Canuck. The last time I felt this good was when they ditched the long gun registry. Let's hope this passing of sensible legislation is a trend.

Five years ago, during testimony in the case of Warman v. Lemire, Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) investigator Dean Steacy was asked “What value do you give freedom of speech when you investigate?” His response: “Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don’t give it any value.”

Changed so that Mr. Steyn could continue attacking Muslims, not so that rights would be extended. Article does not even give details of what was changed!

Way to go Harper. I know we can't get everything we want, but I stand a little taller today as a Canuck. The last time I felt this good was when they ditched the long gun registry. Let's hope this passing of sensible legislation is a trend.

In the least me and you stand a little safer from police showing up at our doors, arresting us and charging us for " hate speech " for some random post we've made on this website. Definitely worth a cheers.

For decades, Canadians had meekly submitted to a system of administrative law that potentially made de facto criminals out of anyone with politically incorrect views about women, gays, or racial and religious minority groups. All that was required was a complainant... The system was bogus and corrupt.

While Mr. Storseth and the MPs who voted for the bill (including Liberal MP Scott Simms) are to be applauded, the fact is that government action on this file is a trailing indicator of popular opinion, which has shifted against human-rights-justified censorship over the last five years...

New Democrat public safety critic Randall Garrison says the human rights commission needs the power of Section 13 to take down hate websites.

The Canadian Bar Association says that promotion of hatred is a "social evil" that has increased with the proliferation of the internet, and that the standard for wilful promotion of hatred in the Criminal Code is very difficult to prove. The CBA supported "retaining section 13 as a useful tool," but had reservations about the punitive fines.

It's the Human Rights Act, which the Rights Commission/Tribunal enforces and the worst thing they can do is ask people to pay fines. This doesn't mean anything in the sense of the Criminal Code, which is still enforceable and does greater damage (jail time). I don't trust Harper to be honest. I think they will just move to make the hate speech in the Criminal Code legislature stronger and give the police more powers to spy and arrest.